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Scrubbing up on English skills

Carly

Hi 

I currently work in HR and have done for about 8 months now, two months ago I started my CIPD level 3, all is going well (passed the first unit today!) 

I just had a 121 with my line manager, who has told me my communication could be a show stopper in my career and is what could stop me to making it as an HR manager, which has left me rather disheartened. To me, my grammar and written English has been a little over average, clearly to my employer it is not. He would like me to explore how I 'write' better and produce documents. 

Does anyone have any advice or know of a good book I can read to better my skills? 

Many thanks 

Carly 

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  • Hi Carly

    It may only be a small sample, but having read your post I cannot agree with your manager that your written English is "show stopping". We all seem to have understood you with no difficulty.

    In HR, we draft documents that go out to the whole organisation so for me the standard to achieve for any piece of writing issued by an HR department is that it should be unambiguous and clear. We aren't trying to compose elegant prose; we need the night shift or a lone worker at the other end of the country to understand what to do by reading something we have circulated when we aren't there in person to explain it to them. If we can't do that, that would be show-stopping.

    If, however, you want to dip into a book or two for your own peace of mind, then here are some you might find of interest:

    Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
    The Economist Style Guide
    Usage and Abusage: A Style Guide to Good English by Eric Partridge

    Lynne Truss's book was a best seller read for its entertainment value, so if you haven't already read it, that might be the one to try first.
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  • Hi Carly

    It may only be a small sample, but having read your post I cannot agree with your manager that your written English is "show stopping". We all seem to have understood you with no difficulty.

    In HR, we draft documents that go out to the whole organisation so for me the standard to achieve for any piece of writing issued by an HR department is that it should be unambiguous and clear. We aren't trying to compose elegant prose; we need the night shift or a lone worker at the other end of the country to understand what to do by reading something we have circulated when we aren't there in person to explain it to them. If we can't do that, that would be show-stopping.

    If, however, you want to dip into a book or two for your own peace of mind, then here are some you might find of interest:

    Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
    The Economist Style Guide
    Usage and Abusage: A Style Guide to Good English by Eric Partridge

    Lynne Truss's book was a best seller read for its entertainment value, so if you haven't already read it, that might be the one to try first.
Children
  • in reply to Elizabeth Divver

    Hi Carly,

    "It may only be a small sample, but having read your post I cannot agree with your manager that your written English is "show stopping". We all seem to have understood you with no difficulty."

    I agree with Elizabeth. Your post above is very well-written including little nuances that I would have said were above average (if we're going to measure things like that).